Ashley, Interrupted
by sylar1610
Summary: AU. After being rescued from a terrorist organisation know as the Cabal, Ashley Magnus is sent to a mental instituation for treatment. There she meets another patient Will Zimmerman. Together can they help heal each others psychological scars and be free.
1. Chapter 1

Ashley, Interrupted.

_'Darkness..., When i was a little girl I feared the dark, like all children do, I was afraid that there were monsters hiding in the shadow that wanted to eat me, I remember i used to run into my mom's bed and I would say "Mommy, I'm scared" and she would hold me in her arms and i would feel safe'_

Ashley lay in her bunk in the her dark room. She no longer feared the darkness, for it was in the darkness where she was safety, it was when the light came that she knew danger was coming.

She heard the footsteps coming, her body readied itself to protect herself. She heard the voices outside muttering. She could not make out what they said except for the odd word, she could make out words like "Dangerous and Beware"

She heard the door open and the light from the corridor flooded into the room. Instinctively Ashley readied herself to defend herself from her invaders.

Two tall silhouettes entered the room and walked towards her, Ashley frightened and reacted by punching one of the men in the stomach. he fell over in pain and the second man grabbed Ashley's arm and saying "We're not here to hurt you, we want to help you". She responded by punching him in the face with her free arm.

He steps back as the blood pours out like a waterfall from his nose. She looks at his face and for a flash of a second she see the familar and horribly scarred face. She screamed and heard a voice call "Ashley"

She turned to the doorway and saw the silhouette of a woman standing in the doorway. She recognised the voice and answered "Mom". With that she felt a pinch in her arm and suddenly began to feel lightheaded and dizzy. She turned to the see the the first man had recovered from her punch and and had injected her with some sort of drug

She found it difficult to concentrate and fall to the conscience was now a strainous labour as she struggle with each moment, not giving in to the the powerful effects of the drug. However it soon became too much for her and before everything went dark she saw the figure of her mother walking towards her and placing her arms around her.

"There, there Ashley, it's going to be alright" her mother said before Ashley slipped into sweet unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Therapy

Ashley's eyes slowing began to open slowly. Her head felt like someone was using her brain for a drum and the light shining in pain her eyes.

"Oh good, Sleeping Beauty is finally awake" said a familar voice from nearby. For the first time Ashley noticed that she was laying down. She got up slowly and began to take notice of her surroundings. She was in an office. It was a very light, roomy and homey feel. It had a very large window which let in the sun light. The room was quite comfortable.

Ashley also noticed a desk just in front of the window with a computer and a pile of books on looked like every other desk in every other office in the world, However their was one unique thing on this desk. It was also this very object which told Ashley exactly where she was. it was a picture of a brunette woman and a young blonde girl about 5 or 6. Apon seeing this picture Ashley knew where she was and who the speaker was.

Ashley turned to face her mother who was sitting on a chair just across for the couch she had been laying on.

"How long was i out" Ashley asked in a groggy voice.

"About an hour, the tranquiliser we used on you was very mild" she replied calmly.

"Having your own kid drug, I think you're out of the running for the Mother of Year Award" Ashley said sarcastically getting up from the couch that she was laying on.

"You attacked two orderlies, i had no other choice, this was the only way i could get you to actually come to therapy" Helen said.

"You could have just asked" Ashley said sardonically.

"Would you have said yes?" Helen asked in a tone that suggests she already knew the answer.

"No" Ashley admits before sulking onto the couch and folding her arms.

Helen sighed and said "Ashley I just want to talk to you"

"Do you want to talk to me as my therapist or my mother" Ashley asked sharply.

"Both, I think we should talk about your kidnapping" Helen suggested.

"I don't want to talk about it" Ashley said bring her legs onto the couch and resting her chin on her knees and wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Ashley I think it would help with your recovery" Helen said calmly.

Memories of her dark cell, the guns in her face and worst of all the sound of that leaking pipe, the water dripping down and splashing on the ground below, that horrible sound that echoed in Ashley mind.

Ashley continued to stare into space when her mother said "Ashley"

Ashley snapped out of her flashback and shouted "I SAID I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT"

"Alright, how are you adjusting to life here, I see you've befriended one of the other patients and one of the nurses" Helen said calmly.

"Yeah Henry and Kate, is there something going on between them?" Ashley asked her mother with a naughty smile on her face.

"I don't know what you mean, all i know is that Henry has responded well to Kate and Kate cares a great deal about Henry" she said returning her daughter's knowing smile.

Suddenly the two women began to laugh. "It's been a while since i've had a good laugh" Helen said.

"Me too" Ashley said.

Helen face became serius and she looked at Ashley and said "I understand that you experienxe is painful to talk about, but just know that when your ready to talk about it I'll be here for you both as a Mother and a Therapist"

Ashley smiled and said "Thanks Mom. The two women got out of their seats and hugged each other.

Suddenly a bell went off.

"Well I better not keep you from your recreation time" Helen said smiling. "Thanks" Ashley said heading out the door and towards the rec room.

As she walked into the room she saw the familar face of her favourite nurse Kate Freelander. "Hey Ash" Kate said.

"Hey Kate..." Ashley began before noticing a figure sitting in a chair by the window. He looked a few years older than Ashley with short sandy blond hair and glasses. He did not move, he simply starred out the window but their was something about him that caught Ashley's attention.

"Hey Kate, who is that by the window" she asked her friend.

"Oh him, that's Will Zimmerman" Kate replied.

"Will Zimmerman" Ashley repeated suddenly becoming very interested.


	3. Chapter 3

**Introductions.**

" '_William Zimmerman' Ashley repeated suddenly becoming very interested. She walked over to the man sitting by the window and staring vacantly out the window. He seemed to be fixated on a blackbird's nest on the tree outside. She sat down in the chair next to him and extended her hand and said "Hi I'm Ashley". She put on a friendly smile in the hopes of attracting his attention. He did not seem to notice her, he continued stare at the bird's nest. Ashley eye fell upon the nest and she noticed it was full of chicks. They looked like they were ready to fly, they were already stretching and flapping there wings and getting ready to take flight for the first time. But one chick, seemed to have a wounded wing, it wasn't able to fly, not yet._

"Ashley" her mother said snapping her out of her memories and back to reality. She was sitting in her mother office in another therapy session, It had been nearly a week since she had tried to interact with Will, since then she was trying to find out about him, apperently he had been there longer than any of the nurses or current patients. Which got Ashley wondering exactly how old Will was or how long he's been there.

"Ashley, are you still with me" Helen asked. She was worried that her daughter was beginning to lose touch with reality. "Sorry I was just thinking" Ashley said. "What about" Helen asked. "I was just remembering something" Ashley replied.

"You do know last time you remembered something you attacked two orderlies thinking they were terrorists" Her Mother replied. Ashley found herself smiling at her Mother's reply. "No, it's just ...well Mom can i ask you something ?" Ashley asked.

"As long as it's not where baby's come from" She replied smiling.

Ashley giggled and said "No, I was wondering if i could ask you about a patient ?"

"Well normally i would say No but i'm curious, which patient?" Helen asked surprised by her daughter's sudden interest in, well anything.

"William Zimmerman, i was asking around about him no seems to know much about him" Ashley said.

"Oh yes, Will Zimmerman , now that is a sad story, His mother was killed in front of his very eyes when he was just a child" Helen began.

Ashley gasped at the horror of the idea, she had been, raised by her mother, she was her whole world, the thought of losing her was a thought to horrible to imagine, she could see how it effected Will the way it did.

"A bear killed his mother on a camping trip, his father scared it away with a gun shot, ever since that day he hasn't spoken since" Helen said.

"I was working at Old City General at the time as a physician, they was a paramedic strike at the time so the hospital was short, I volunteered to go to the scene, it was a horrific site, they was nothing i could do for his mother, she literally ripped apart, the bear had gone rabid, apartly it had been attack by a wolf and contacted the virus from it, Animal Control found it and put it down later that night" Helen explained as tears began to form in her eyes.

Ashley could feel the knot form in her throat from sorrow.

"That boy, that poor boy, when i saw him there, standing still, he didn't even look like he was alive anymore, it was like he was a statue, I rushed up to him and hugged him" Helen said.

"Since that day, he has never spoken to anyone, not the nurses, not me, not even his father, about 6 months after the attack,his father had him place in this facility, I transfered her to keep an eye on him and to help him but instead all he has done is just go deeper into his mind, to be honest after all these years I'm starting to lose hope, I don't know if he can be helped" Helen said sadly.

Ashley couldn't believe all that she had just been told, it was a lot to take in. '_No wonder he's like that' _she thought sadly to herself.

Helen then took a deep breath and leaned forward and said to her daughter "Ashley, have you ever considered Group Therapy?"


	4. Chapter 4

Group Therapy

Ashley sat within the circle surrounded by her fellow patients. The only ones she really know were Henry who was sitting next to her on the right. Nikola, one of the older patients who was sitting on her left. He was one of oddest patients in the hospital in Ashley's opinion. If you meet him you wouldn't think there was anything wrong with him, until you realise he believes he some sort of Uberman Vampire who is destined to enslave the world. But apart from that he act and talks like any other person except for the fact that's he a narcissistic ass.

Finally Ashley saw sitting across from her was Will, she smiled at him but he simply looked at his feet . Ashley felt a little down, she was starting to think that her mother was right, that interacting with Will was a waste of time.

Kate walk over from the nurses station and and sat down in the last empty chair. She then let out a fake cough to get everyone's attention. Silence fell on the group as Kate begin.

"Alright, our we ready to begin" Kate said pleasantly.

"Actually I'm ready to leave, can i go now?" Nikola asked sarcastic.

"Mr Tesla, everyday you disrupt this group therapy session and heckle your fellow patient, if you say anything today that does not contribute to the group I will have all your privileges revoked for a month." Kate said sternly yet still retaining a pleasant demeanor.

Nikola was about to open his mouth to reply with another smart ass answer but Kate interrupted him and said sternly "Do you really want to test me?". Nikola simply folded his arm and sulked.

Kate smiled and said " Now that Statler and Waldorf have shut up, we can begin. Now I think we should talk about what we miss from the outside world and what we want to get back to "

'_What a load of crap' _Ashley thought to herself.

Kate turned to Ashley almost as if she had read her mind and asked "Ashley, since your new would you like to begin?"

'_Oh crap!'_ Ashley thought. Ashley looked very awkward and simply said "I actually would like to pass if you don't mind"

"Come on Ashley there must be something you miss, friends, Boyfriend?" Kate asked.

For a split second swore she could have seen a hint of jealousy on Will's face, but it must have just been a trick of the light she thought.

"Well, I don't have a boyfriend and my friends kinda turned there back on me after my kidnapping, some friends they turned out to be, I suppose the thing i miss most would have to be my motorbike" Ashley said smiling as she remembered her motorbike and the feel of the wind going through her hair at 80 MPH.

" Thank you Ashley, Henry would you like to next" Kate said turning to Henry.

"Oh of course lover boy would get to go before us" one of the patients said.

Kate was about to say something but Ashley beat her to the punch and said angrily "Shut your mouth Idiot!"

"Thank you Ms Magnus, go ahead Henry" Kate said smiling.

"I miss my job" Henry said meekly.

"That makes two of us" Nikola said sarcastically.

"That's it " Kate said angrily.

"Oh come on that was not heckling I was simply saying that i too miss my job, I miss working on my experiments for the benefit of mankind" Nikola said in response.

"Benefit of Mankind " Kate began sarcastically "Your experiments were illegal and immoral"

"Only by your slave Morality " He responded before sulking back into his seat after a threatening glance from Kate.

Kate turned back to Henry "Care to elaborate?" she asked.

"Well i worked this electronic store...repairing...tinkering with anything, computers, game consoles anything, I loved it, that was until ...it showed up...The Big Bad Wolf" Henry said meekly and getting frightened as his said the final words.

"Henry we've been over this before there is no Big Bad Wolf, it's simple a product of your mind" Kate said kindly.

"No, NO NOOOOO!, he's in there, i can hear him growling and...oh god the things he wants to do" Henry said becoming terrified and point to his temple.

One of the other patients began singing "Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf, Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf"

Henry turned to him and in an uncharacteristic display of rage punched the patient in the face. Immediately two orderly came and pinned Henry to the ground. Henry struggled and shouted "Let go of me".

One of the Doctors came out of and shouted "Sedate him and bring him back to his room"

Kate stood up and followed the orderlies dragging the sedated Henry back to his room calling after him "I'll be right with you Henry, don't be afraid"

Just as she was about to turn the corner of the long Hall she called back "Class dismissed"

"Finally, now i can return to me book" Nikola said before picking up Beyond Good and Evil and reading it.

Ashley noticed Will get up and walk out of the room.

'_Must need to pee '_ she thought before sitting down at the window.

About half an hour passed before Ashley was called to a private Therapy session with her Mom.

Ashley got up off the chair and as she turned around bumped into something. She recovered from the shock and looked up and saw Will standing in front of her.

"Oh sorry about that Will" she said trying to step around him but he blocked her path.

"Come on Will , let me through" she said trying to sidestep him but he blocked her each time.

Getting frustrated Ashley finally said "Alright Will, I'm sorry if i offended you in some way by trying to get to know you, I just thought you seemed like an interesting person, will you let me pass now."

Will held out his hand and place something within Ashley's hand before walk away.

Ashley was surprised for a moment before she opened her hand and saw what Will had placed inside it, which left her so surprised she was speechless

It was a little toy Motorbike.

* * *

><p><strong>There is a Dr Who reference, a Muppets Reference and 3 Nietzche References in this chapter, can you spot them all?<strong>


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